B2B Cold Calling - Is it a waste of time

BnB

I am starting out in a new Market (The UK).

When we started the business first we did a certain amount of cold calling in Ireland. But it has been a long time since we did that. We are now well established in Ireland and although we are certainly not doing business with everyone we want to be, we have, in the vast majority of cases, at least spoken to them a few times. So basically, it's a long time since we had to do any cold calling.

Typically the person I want to talk to would be an EHS (Health & Safety) manager in a Manufacturing type company of maybe 100+ people.

In some cases that would be one guy who looks after H&S part time as part of his main job and in other cases it may be someone who is head of an EHS department with a few people working under them.

But in general I suppose you could call them Middle-Management.

So I am starting out now cold in the UK. I have a list of 1200 suitable companies that I put together from Plimsoll Databases.

We did a trial run in November where we cold called (on the phone) 113 companies in the Manchester area and we did very poorly. We only got 13 names, sent out about 40 e-mails and got no contact back at all.

Now - I don't mind cold calling at all - I'll do whatever it takes to get the business out there. But I want to spend my time as productively as I can. And I am not sure that sitting down for 3 days making a few hundred phone calls is the best way to go.

I'd appreciate anyone's experience / opinions on it.

Might be a case of working on your cold calling technique and your initial pitch, and improving on ways to get past the gatekeepers etc.
I'd say theres a variety of tips and tricks on the web if you look around.

What other options do you have other then turning up and their offices?

Atomico

Unlikely to bear fruit.

These days you are better off being a lot more clever about it. Get on LinkedIn, join discussions, hang out online where your prospects hang out, establish your expertise, build trust and rapport. That's the approach to take in the age of social media and digital imo!

dbran

Hi

I find that these days people only do business with a people that they know, like and trust. Cold calling does not do this very well and to a certain extent is old hat. This is all the more difficult when you are operating from Ireland. Why would they choose you rather the choose a UK provider of the service.

Most of the people that you are trying to reach would be internet and social media savy. If you know the names of the people who you need to connect with, you could see if you have a connection with them in common on linkedin and try and arrange an introduction.

If there are any events over there that you can attend it may help you get better known over there.

It is of course going to take a lot of work and time to break into the market but as you know, it is a huge market with huge potential.

Kind Regards


dbran

pedroeibar1

You are confusing several issues: (i) your skills at cold calling; (ii) cold calling a company in an overseas market; (iii) the approach to your target market; (iv) analysis of cold call results –( called 113 companies ...and got 13 names, sent out about 40 e-mails and got no contact back at all.)

You have not said whether you are supplying a product or a service, so it is hard to be precise with comments. Firstly, something is working as 13 out of 113 is 12% which is not a bad return.

Dbran’s comments on mutual contacts is very valid and any ‘common’ link / connection should really be exploited to the max.

In general, the biggest mistake all exporters make - Irish, British, French, whatever, is to think that just because the new market speaks the same language ‘it will be OK, they’re the same as us.’ NO THEY ARE NOT. You are a foreigner, you speak funny, you have different business habits/rules/customs and you are far away. Embedding that notion in the collective culture of your business has to be the starting point for your strategy. For example, look at how stupid the Harvey Norman advertising sounded when they came here a few years back: look at how quickly Lidl/Aldi changed their product range and advertising approach since their arrival. You need to refine and adjust your skills to the target market. WalMart did not/could not do that so had to close in Germany at a big cost.

You have identified your target market – it is very small, niche and easily targeted, a big plus. Rifle approach, not shotgun. An email is an insult to them and demeaning to you and your offer. Marketing emails are useless – if they pass the spam filter and even get clicked and read, they fall off the screen or get deleted/forgotten. Snail mail is the way to go, but high quality, highly targeted and followed up with a phone call.......

Next – how do you structure your calls - ....... I am not sure that sitting down for 3 days making a few hundred phone calls is the best way to go. No it is not. You select a targeted number of potential customers in a defined region, you write to a manageable number of them to a named individual /buyer ‘I enclose our brochure and as I will be in your area later this month/next month I will telephone you to arrange a meeting to discuss our offer and pricing.....etc’ After a suitable interval you then telephone each of the names to whom you have mailshotted and you say ‘I sent you a brochure of our product/service/whatever and would love to meet you ----I’m near your area for a few days on other business and can see you on x y or z.

It takes time, but be thankful that there are cheap flights out there. That was not always the case!

BnB

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

..... You have identified your target market – it is very small, niche and easily targeted, a big plus. Rifle approach, not shotgun. An email is an insult to them and demeaning to you and your offer. Marketing emails are useless – if they pass the spam filter and even get clicked and read, they fall off the screen or get deleted/forgotten. Snail mail is the way to go, but high quality, highly targeted and followed up with a phone call.......

Next – how do you structure your calls - ....... I am not sure that sitting down for 3 days making a few hundred phone calls is the best way to go. No it is not. You select a targeted number of potential customers in a defined region, you write to a manageable number of them to a named individual /buyer ‘I enclose our brochure and as I will be in your area later this month/next month I will telephone you to arrange a meeting to discuss our offer and pricing.....etc’ After a suitable interval you then telephone each of the names to whom you have mailshotted and you say ‘I sent you a brochure of our product/service/whatever and would love to meet you ----I’m near your area for a few days on other business and can see you on x y or z.

It takes time, but be thankful that there are cheap flights out there. That was not always the case!

Firstly - Sincere thanks to all posters for the replies. They have all been very helpful.

To answer what I am selling, it is an online service. To put it very basically it is document management system and service for chemicals. I would put a link to the website, but I am afraid that I might contact someone in the UK, who might google the site, find this thread, and I would look like a right ass. But if you are curious, PM me and I'll pm you back.

Also, to answer another question - This is not all I am doing. I also have a Google Adwords Campaign running since last week . I am also trying to get over to visit a few conferences, trade shows etc, but they seem to be very expensive.

I am also trying to build up my own personal profile as well as the company's profile on Linkedin. But this will take time. I have noticed on Linkedin that the vast majority of people that I see commenting on groups are actually only doing it for the sake of commenting. i.e. They have nothing new to offer to the discussion, but want their name to be there because they are pushing a service. I think they stand out like a sore thumb and do themselves more harm than good. And I don't want to do that.

To get back to the cold calling.

I have quoted pedroeibar above because I think this will be my next attack.

Over the weekend I put together a list of about 100 potential leads from, Linkedin. All from 2 industry sectors and within 100 miles of a central Postcode.

I have no connection to any of these people on Linkedin, I just have their names, positions and companies their work in. I was going to use this list to do as suggested above:

1) Send a personal letter (snail mail) to each of the contacts telling them I will be around in 3 weeks and that I will phone them next week to try and make an appointment

2) Follow up next week with phone calls.

3) Hopefully follow up the following week with a few visits.

The major difference this time compared to last attempt is that I have a list of names as opposed to just a list of companies this time. Also, I'm sending a letter in advance. But at the end of the day, it is still a cold call.

What do you guys think ?

pedroeibar1

Hopefully a few others will comment.... I don’t want to sound as if I’m agreeing with myself, but a few more basics if you are going down the route suggested.

Firstly, make sure that your potential buyers are credit worthy – there is no point in investing serious time & cash in a firm that is a bad payer/about to go to the wall. (You would be surprised how many export firms get a first ‘trial’ order only to be unpaid and then find that they got the order only because the buyer could not get credit in its own market.)

Secondly, look at a routeplanner – e.g. the AA one so that you get a good idea of the distances and more importantly the traffic times between each potential appointment. Really study the terrain. Make sure your rental car has a satnav or bring your own.

Thirdly, closely manage the timing of your phonec alls and the meeting dates – make too large a gap between them and there is a big risk that the potential buyer will not be available/forget it/ something else will arise.

Finally, you say your service is ‘document management’ - if you have not already done so, set up a dummy account on your website containing the type of documents and parameters similar to those you would expect your potential customers to have/want/need/use. The best sales aid you can have is a live demonstration of what the customer can see and use on its own IT screen. Practise on it, hone your presentation, try it at different times of the day, just make sure it works!

Peterdalkey

BnB wrote: »

Firstly - Sincere thanks to all posters for the replies. They have all been very helpful.

To answer what I am selling, it is an online service. To put it very basically it is document management system and service for chemicals. I would put a link to the website, but I am afraid that I might contact someone in the UK, who might google the site, find this thread, and I would look like a right ass. But if you are curious, PM me and I'll pm you back.

Also, to answer another question - This is not all I am doing. I also have a Google Adwords Campaign running since last week . I am also trying to get over to visit a few conferences, trade shows etc, but they seem to be very expensive.

I am also trying to build up my own personal profile as well as the company's profile on Linkedin. But this will take time. I have noticed on Linkedin that the vast majority of people that I see commenting on groups are actually only doing it for the sake of commenting. i.e. They have nothing new to offer to the discussion, but want their name to be there because they are pushing a service. I think they stand out like a sore thumb and do themselves more harm than good. And I don't want to do that.

To get back to the cold calling.

I have quoted pedroeibar above because I think this will be my next attack.

Over the weekend I put together a list of about 100 potential leads from, Linkedin. All from 2 industry sectors and within 100 miles of a central Postcode.

I have no connection to any of these people on Linkedin, I just have their names, positions and companies their work in. I was going to use this list to do as suggested above:

1) Send a personal letter (snail mail) to each of the contacts telling them I will be around in 3 weeks and that I will phone them next week to try and make an appointment

2) Follow up next week with phone calls.

3) Hopefully follow up the following week with a few visits.

The major difference this time compared to last attempt is that I have a list of names as opposed to just a list of companies this time. Also, I'm sending a letter in advance. But at the end of the day, it is still a cold call.

What do you guys think ?

That sounds like a better plan to me. It is going to sound a bit trite, but selling to every market has its own different nuances, sometimes slight and sometimes large. The one that works is best and often trial and error is the only way to identify the winning strategy. You strike me as the real grafter who will stick with it, you will crack it!

gymman39

Hello all and can i just say the comments above were excellent and i hope this has helped the poster BnB.
Just to throw my two pence worth into the pot,i started a new sales job last January and the first three months have been eventful to say the least.There is pro's and cons to cold calling and just to give you an example i walked into an office last week and the service i was selling was needed and they had called another company three weeks before and nobody called so i got to price up the job and submitted a quote.
Just today i called to a hotel and met possibly the rudest man i have ever come across and in his mind has tarred every salesman with the same brush but hey its water off a ducks back and i lived to tell the tale.
Linkedin has proved to be an amazing tool for me as i was in a totally different job up to this year and it has made it possible to connect with people i need to be calling to.I sold to one company two weeks ago just because i knew the guy and this was made possible by linkedin as i didnt know he had moved to that company until i seen his profile.The hard work still needs to be done and all leads need to be chased but linkedin does give me a leg up.
At the end of the day selling is a numbers game and a 12% strike rate from cold calling seems about right.I had coffee when i started with a sales rep who had a good few years under his belt and he told me that 1/3 of people will deal with you if your product is good..1/3 will never deal with you no matter what and you have to fight tooth and nail for the other 1/3.

Best of luck with your venture in the UK BnB